


Horsepower

by darkrosaleen



Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Fast Cars, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-22
Updated: 2014-10-22
Packaged: 2018-02-22 03:16:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2492450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darkrosaleen/pseuds/darkrosaleen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ronan gets taken for a ride.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Horsepower

**Author's Note:**

  * For [yabamena](https://archiveofourown.org/users/yabamena/gifts).



> Thanks to Isis for the beta!

Despite being the only one without a costume, Ronan was the last person to leave Monmouth on Halloween. The wind was harsh on his bare arms, but he stuffed his hands in his pockets, determined not to prove Gansey right and show up with a jacket. His phone buzzed with a text.

 _I know! Youre dressed as a humorless killjoy._ Gansey must have reached 300 Fox Way. Knowing Blue's sartorial tendencies, he was going to be there for a while. Ronan chuckled and looked up from his phone. 

Parked haphazardly on the curb, as shiny as the day it left the factory, was a jet black Mitsubishi Evo.

Ronan couldn't breathe. The driver side window rolled down, pouring bass-heavy rap out into the air. An arm came through the window, a lit cigarette dangling between two thin fingers. 

"Hop in, baby. Let's go for a ride."

Could a dead dreamer dream himself back to life?

With his mind screaming at him to run, Ronan walked slowly around the car. The paint was slick and shiny like oil, and not even the tires were dusty. He reached out and touched the handle. The metal was warm, almost hot. It smelled like gasoline and burnt rubber and sex.

Ronan opened the door. 

The smoke was so thick that all Ronan could see was the glint of a silver chain hanging over sharp collarbones. He settled into the deep leather seat. The interior of the car felt wrong, like the seats were too small or the dashboard was too high. 

This car had never been inside a factory. 

A hand wrapped around the gear shift. "Ready, Lynch?"

"Fuck you." Ronan's voice felt rough from the smoke. He didn't know why he'd gotten in the car, but he felt like he'd scream if they didn't move soon.

Kavinsky floored it.

Ronan's stomach lurched. The bass from the music and the whine of the taxed engine buzzed through him like electricity. He laughed, feeling more alive than he had in months.

"Fucking hell, man, I..." Ronan couldn't finish his thought. I miss you? I miss this? I'm sorry I couldn't stop you from committing suicide by nightmare? He hadn't even thought about Kavinsky much, not until the hum of the Mitsubishi's engine brought everything back.

The Evo accelerated again, pressing Ronan back against the seat. It wound through narrow dirt roads at eighty miles an hour, then ninety, flinging Ronan back and forth with every hairpin turn. The car swerved to the right and Ronan almost toppled into Kavinsky's lap.

"Jesus, man. Are you trying to kill us?"

One hundred ten. One hundred twenty. 

The car whipped to the left, throwing Ronan against the door. Every muscle in his body felt knotted with adrenaline, and his heart was pounding so fast he could hear it above the music. If they crashed, would he be able to dream himself back?

Kavinsky stubbed the cigarette out on the dashboard. When the smoke cleared, his eyes were glowing yellow.

"Hold onto your bollocks, Lynch."

Ronan hadn't heard the word "bollocks" since his father died. 

"Motherfucker," Ronan muttered. Then he passed out.

-

Ronan blinked, wincing at the harsh sunlight. He was lying in a field, and there was a black rabbit sitting on his chest, slowly cleaning its paw. It had a black tongue like a chow dog.

"Uh," Ronan said. The rabbit blinked at him with big yellow eyes, then jumped off his chest and ran into the grass at the edge of the field. Ronan flung an arm over his eyes and groaned.

"Hungover?"

Adam was still wearing skeleton face paint. He reached out a hand, and Ronan pulled himself to his feet. His legs were sore, like he'd spent all night running. Adam handed him a plastic grocery bag filled with candy. 

"You should call Gansey," Adam said. "I had to lock him in the trunk of the Pig to keep him from calling 911." 

Ronan turned on his phone and found twenty-seven missed calls. "Yeah, sure. Help me with something first."

They drove back to Monmouth, and he left Adam sitting in the car while he ran upstairs for a half empty bottle of vodka. When Ronan came back down, there were a dozen candy wrappers on the dashboard. 

Adam raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know fairies liked booze."

Ronan shrugged. "Ghosts do." He tried to identify the spot where the Evo had been parked. Eventually he found a small patch of charred grass. He dumped the candy in a pile and poured vodka in a circle around it. 

"Happy harvest, you pooka bastard. Now leave me the fuck alone." 

Ronan felt something at the bottom of his pocket. It was a knotted silver chain, which he dropped into Adam's palm. Adam carefully untangled it until it was stretched between his hands, much longer than a necklace and with several connecting strands.

"This looks like a bridle," Adam said. 

Ronan clapped him on the back. "In case you need some extra horsepower." He took a swig of vodka and turned back to Monmouth.


End file.
